No, I Refuse!
by IEternity
Summary: Hitsugaya gets an arranged marriage, the only problem is Momo's jealous, he doesn't want a fiance in the first place and his fiance's got dangerous admirers! It's a weird love square! WARNING: The story might give you nightmares/fantasies as it progresses
1. The Unwilling Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**A/N- The words in italics are what the person is thinking. Story takes place when Soul Society is at peace. Well, find out yourself on what the setting really is. I am just dragging the characters I like into my own version. This chapter may be rather traumatizing so I am simply warning you before you read it and have nightmares later. No one was harmed (other than me for simply imagining it) in the making of the story.**

Toshiro Hitsugaya splashed water on his face before looking at the mirror, face dripping with water.

He frowned at his reflection and wiped his face on a towel. Immediately, he remembered what was going to happen to him.

_I'm nearly a hundred years old and already I have an arranged marriage. I have to meet that girl today too... Who CARES if she's a noble? Soul Society seems outdated compared to the human world. Who enjoys arranged marriages?_

_Maybe all her family wants is a good name, getting a Captain-level shinigami into the family. From what I've researched, all of the family members who were shinigami all died long ago. How strange, there is almost no information about the girl I am going to marry, besides her age and where she lives. Even this family barely has any information other than an account of their ancestor's lives. This family must be hiding something._

_What should I do to get rid of her? The only thing that I can do is either cause so much trouble that the family will call it off or find another girl so that the family will call it off. Which do I prefer? Either way, it will ruin my reputation._

_This fiance is ruining my life. Everyone is picking on me asking who the girl is. Momo looks so depressed these days. I'd rather marry someone close to me._

_Like Momo. But who said I'd MARRY HER? Nobody. I just **prefer **her over this girl._

_And I am going to see her all day today._

He groaned and changed his clothes into his Captain uniform and finished of the 'captain' effect by putting on his green sash. There was nothing special that he needed to do to himself besides think of what he could say to the girl and her family.

Oh yes, and eat.

He walked over to the kitchen and took a few rice cakes. _If one of them cracks while I'm holding it, that means that I will fail in my goal. _He was feeling a bit paranoid at the moment.

Hitsugaya carefully inspected the rice cakes before quickly eating them and drinking them down with hot tea. Unfortunately, he failed to notice a crack that had split the cake in half.

_Finally, I can call off the wedding,_ he thought munching in relief.

--

Hitsugaya was in no hurry to get to his fiance's home but the sudden thunderstorm made him run all the way there. 

Not to mention that the house was quite far from where he lived.

As it turned out, the house was actually a mansion. _Nobles_ he scoffed. The front of it, as far as he could tell was hidden by an overgrowth of flowers and trees. There seemed to be a garden behind the simple gate that was the only form of entry into the mansion.

He walked to the tree in front of the gate and was just starting to Get a good soaking from the rain (even though he was under a tree) when he heard noises from inside the garden.

It was a woman shrieking.

He heard several sharp _thwacks_ of wood hitting _something_ but when he saw what was happening he tried to run inside to help.

There was a girl about his age whose face and body was being hit by a woman with a club. The woman was yelling vulgar insults at the girl, calling her several names that thankfully slipped out of Hitsugaya's head the moment he heard them. The few he understood however, made it seem as if the girl was just a living doll.

Hitsugaya tried to enter the mansion, but crossing the gate wasn't as easy as he thought. There seemed to be a huge shield covering the entire mansion. 

Hitsugaya was rather reluctant to break anything but tried cutting the shield with his sword. Plus it didn't help that the woman seemed to be so preoccupied in what she was doing that she ignored him. The girl also never looked at him.

Strangely, the girl didn't even react to the beating, making the woman angrier. The woman finally hit the girl's legs and the girl collapsed to the ground. The woman, to Hitsugaya's embarrassment, stripped the top part of the girl's dress revealing that her body was swathed in bloody bandages. The woman started screaming and beating the girl's back until, after several seconds had passed, her anger seemed to abate. She then kicked the girl and slapped her in the eyes, telling her to get up.

Hitsugaya was getting angrier and angrier but there seemed to be nothing he could do except wait outside.

The woman dragged the girl into the house and shut the door.

_Horrifies me, the way some nobles treat servants. What if my fiance has the same attitude?_

Toshiro Hitsugaya, miserable, angry, cold and wet stood outside in the freezing rain. He kicked the ground angrily and then he noticed a small rope on the side of the gate attached to a bell. He pulled it as hard as he could.

The gate opened and to his disgust, the same woman who had been beating the girl came out of the mansion holding an umbrella. She was smiling.

He, in deep contrast, was frowning so much that the lady's smile dwindled into almost nothing. He stomped over to the doors of the house and noticed that it seemed a little smaller up close. The garden was growing wild though it seemed to be cared for. The lady did not offer him the umbrella.

The lady ushered him inside the home the moment he took of his sandals. "I am Mira's step-mother. Could you please wait here while I go fetch her?" The lady asked.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, had just seen two servants walk side-by-side carrying what appeared to be several bottles of medicine and blood-stained bandages. The sight made him feel slightly sick and wonder at the well-being of the mistreated girl he had seen earlier.

Hitsugaya turned to face the hall. "Which room is hers?" Hitsugaya blandly asked. He had no desire to stay in the house or near the woman. He did not look at her face. "I wish to see her alone."

Mira's step-mother's face blanched slightly, but she regained her composure. Her voice sounded a little angry and mechanical as she gave quick instructions, "Turn left from here, go right, walk up the left stairs, turn right, turn left, her room is on your left side."

"Watch her for me will you? I will be leaving this house for the entire day. Do not go out of the premises of the house. Take care of her until I return," commanded the woman. "I will take all of the servants with me so you can be alone in the house with Mira."

_I wasn't planning on showing her off around town anyway. _Hitsugaya thanked the repulsive woman for the directions and quickly walked away.

--

He reached the room in ten minutes flat. The hallways were longer than he expected and the flight of stairs were quite high. Seeing nobody in sight, Hitsugaya began to wonder how many people actually lived in the house. He knocked on the door politely. 

"Please come in," said a soft voice. Was it his imagination or did the voice sound miserably lonely?

He opened the sliding door and to his surprise, the girl from earlier was sitting on the floor, seated on a black cushion. She gestured to the empty seat in front of her with a long, sharp stick she was playing with.

Hitsugaya couldn't see her face very well, only her mouth as the rest of her face was obstructed by a dark veil. Her right hand was halfway covered by white bandages. Strangely, she wore clothes similar to the shinigami yet they were all white on the outside, black on the inside. 

_Her clothes are like an arrancar or a prisoner, _Hitsugaya found himself thinking. _Can she even see me through that veil?_ He was unsure of what to say.

"Your name is Toshiro Hitsugaya?" the girl asked as she put the stick down at her side. "Mother said that Toshiro Hitsugaya would be coming today to play with me. What should I call you?"

Hitsugaya paused for a while. "Toshiro-sama," he replied. He was older than her by a few years. "What is your name?" He was bored already. _I am her playmate? Whatever happened to the fiance bit?_

"Mira-san. Does Toshiro-sama want Togo outside?"

_I just got up here. _"Anything," he said coldly. He stood up when she did so. Mira turned around and walked to the door behind him, taking her stick with her. Toshiro saw that she was shorter than him by a few centimeters. Her feet were bare and did not seem to notice the slight chill in the air. She opened the door and walked silently through the hallway. The way she moved was stealthy and smooth.

"Is Toshiro-sama angry that Toshiro-sama came here?" Mira asked him. "Toshiro-sama doesn't seem to be happy or," she stopped and turned to face him, "is that Toshiro-sama's usual expression?"

"The second one," Hitsugaya said weakly. _She keeps speaking to me in third person yet she never refers to herself in third person. It's annoying. I'm so bored._

Mira walked forward and turned at a corner to reveal another hallway, but this time with one of the walls missing so he could see the beauty of the wilderness below. The rain had stopped and everything was glistening in the morning sun with dew.

Mira climbed the railing with such agility, it was hard to believe that she was injured. "This way," she said tilting her head downwards, "is faster."

She leaped downwards and landed in the grass on two feet. Hitsugaya followed her, though he did it much faster than she.

"Where does Toshiro-sama want to go?" Mira asked. Her veil had never moved the entire time.

Hitsugaya looked around him. "Your favorite place," he said. That way, he wouldn't have to waste time thinking or feel nervous. 

Mira walked slowly to a Sakura tree completely hidden by the other plants, cutting through the undergrowth and ducking underneath the branches. She pushed several flowers away with her stick and took her time smelling them.

_She must have been doing this for a long time. If only she would go faster._

Mira stopped at the foot of the tree and sat down cross-legged on the fallen sakura petals. Petals were continuously falling from the tree and Hitsugaya simply stood in the foot-deep pile. "This tree cannot be seen from above, except at a certain time of night," Mira murmured as she propped her stick on the tree.

"Why do you like this place? Because it is beautiful?" queried Hitsugaya sarcastically.

"No, because every full moon, when the Sakura tree blossoms at its fullest and there is a continuous shower of petals, someone will visit me here," she replied softly. Her voice was brimming with happiness and, _was it_, thought Hitsugaya, _love? He had only heard a few people speak in the same tones as Mira was doing now wen they spoke about their dearly cherished ones._

"Who?" Hitsugaya asked curiously. _Sounds romantic._

Mira shrugged her shoulders and reached out a hand to catch a falling blossom, still perfect. "He will come today." She out down her arms and leaned on them.

"Why are you wearing that veil?" Hitsugaya asked. He didn't notice that Mira's head lifted as if she were surprised, then she hunched her shoulders as she faced the ground.

"Mother," Mira hissed. Whatever love was in her voice earlier, was all vaporized in a single instant. She now sounded like shinigami who got angry for being hurt and were bent on killing for revenge. Mira clenched her fist tightly and suddenly calmed down. From her hand she shredded the now-ruined flower between her fingers. "That _woman_," she spoke gaily, "tells me to call her 'Mother', even though she's not mine. My mother was killed by a hollow but before she died, she sent it to Soul Society." It was hard to believe that Mira could talk so peacefully about something sorrowful and violent.

Hitsugaya sat down on the grass and made his first attempt at being polite and friendly to his fiance. "Your step-mother is not around Mira-san. You can take it off."

Mira removed her veil, revealing pitch-black hair. It looked and was tied in a fashion similar to Momo's except she did not wear a covering for the bun at the back of her hair. Why did it remind him of Momo? But it was her eyes that held much of Toshiro's expression. Her dark-green eyes mirrored his own teal ones as she stared into them. Toshiro could see flecks of gold and light shades of violet in them. Her eyes were... intriguing. They bore no expression and were ringed with thick, dark eyelashes, making her seem more like a doll than ever. He had never seen anything like it before, but then again, Soul Society was full of weird-looking people.

She fingered the veil before throwing it up high so that it hung on a flowering branch. Hitsugaya's eyes followed its progress.

There was a silence between the two for a long time.

Hitsugaya broke it. "How are you feeling today?" he asked. He just had to say something. He was getting drowsy.

"Painful," was her innocent reply. "Toshiro-sama saw what happened earlier today." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"You saw me? Then why didn't you say anything?" Toshiro demanded. He felt horribly moody at this point.

Mira turned her head. "You are wrong for saying so.I," she hesitated for a second, "can't see."

**A/N: Well, the 'dark-green eyes' came up by chance because I am tired of seeing blue eyes, red eyes (kind of scary sometimes), brown eyes and yellow eyes (as much as I like them). I forgot that Hitsugaya had near-green ones. A lot of by-chance rhymes too. Oh, and I _just _realized how close 'Mira' sounds to 'Misa', who talks in the same manner. Sorry if the chapter was boring. Please R&R. As always, anyone can do so (even if you don't have an account).**


	2. Everything's Unexpected

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**A/N: Ok, now the story's going to get interesting. After all, it _is _strange that Mira spoke about Hitsugaya's facial expression even though she claims she's blind. But oh well. You have to read on to see why.**

**WARNING: Rated T for possibly nightmarish scenes, future violence and creepy seductiveness. Kids beware, and oh, don't try out whatever I wrote at home.**

Hitsugaya tensed, reached for his sword hilt and looked suspiciously at Mira. _There is something weird about her. How else would she be able to differentiate me from other people when I entered her room, talk about my facial expression, walk around the house and the jungle of a garden without bumping into things and without using that stick of hers as a guide? She even turns to face me, even though I walk with no sound. Anyways, how could she tell when the full moon will rise without seeing it? The only person I know blind is that captain that followed Aizen and Gin._

"Tell the truth," he told her.

Mira appeared unmoved by his sudden change in character. "Toshiro-sama, I am telling the truth."

Hitsugaya grit his teeth. _She addressed me in first person. Momo... What's Momo's image **doing **in my head right now?Though Mira does look like Momo, it's not Momo who's saying this to me, not again._

"It's strange," Hitsugaya retorted, sheathing his sword. Hitsugaya took out his sword completely and held it in position. He was ready for a fight. "It's impossible," he told Mira. "If you dodge my attack, then I will know that you are lying."

Mira turned her head sideways. "That makes sense. Yet I might die either lying or telling the truth if I stood still." She stood up and grabbed her stick. Using the stick, she retrieved her veil from the branch that it hung from. "That's why," she began, tying the veil around her eyes,"this must stay a secret."

She finished tying the veil around her eyes and faced him. "I have never fought against anyone before.Try not to ruin the garden or kill me."

Hitsugaya took that as his cue and attacked her directly.

Mira was in front of him, his sword was getting closer, closer and closer. It touched her.

Almost.

Mira turned sideways and bent her body backwards to dodge his next swing. Her back was in a perfect arch. Hitsugaya brought down his sword to strike her. Just as he was doing so, Mira used her hand as a spring to propel her into the air. He missed her.

Hitsugaya looked up and leaped after her.

_Momo, don't make me do this. Wait, Momo again?_

Mira somehow dived in mid-air towards the ground. She disappeared in the undergrowth.

_Useless. She's running. She might be sensing my spirit power so in that way, she can 'see' me. I'll just approach her with the stealth technique._

_Where is she now? Ahead, no, to my left. Gone. Wrong, it's to the right. Gone again. What's happening? My mind..._

He clenched his fists and frowned silently in frustration. Hitsugaya decided to conceal himself within the foliage of the thick trees.

The wind blew softly and at once, Hitsugaya heard a quiet whisper: _Toshiro-sama. Why do shinigami's fight on the slightest whim?_

He quickly swung his sword behind him and felt it enter something and get stuck there. _I got her. _He turned around.

Mira held her stick like a weapon. Lucky for her, Hitsugaya's sword had closely missed splitting her finger in two, instead slicing away a small part of her ring finger, enough to make the blood run down her stick. To Hitsugaya's surprise, his sword was stuck fast within a single centimeter of her stick.

_Is it over?_

Without warning, Mira pulled her stick towards her with supernatural strength. Even if Hitsugaya was using all of his energy, nothing could stop him from being dragged against his will to Mira. He wrenched his sword free of the stick, splitting it in two pieces, and tried to escape to a safer place by jumping.

However, before he could do so, Mira grabbed the blade of his sword and pulled the sword towards her. Hitsugaya's hand was stuck to his sword for a strange reason. Being in the air, Hitsugaya had nothing to help him dodge her and saw the splintery end of the stick coming for his chest. Using his free hand, he used it to protect himself.

That's when the stick momentarily disappeared from his view to reappear close to his head.

The splintery stick lightly tapped him on his skull as Mira's teeth sunk into his sword hand. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth and used his still-free hand to bat her away. He hit her a lot much harder than he needed to.

Mira flew through the air and hit the center of a tree trunk, denting it. She slid down ten meters and stood up using the tree base to prop herself up. In a second, Hitsugaya was standing in front of her, his sword pointed at her neck.

"Mira-san, enough," he stated boredly. "I could put you in jail for this."

Mira raised the hand she used to grab his blade. There was a dark red line across her palm. She moved forwards, her neck sliding along his blade.

_Is she trying to kill herself?_

A single drop of blood spilled from her neck as she turned her head sideways. "Toshiro-sama is bleeding."

Hitsugaya quickly put his sword back in his scabbard and glanced at his sword hand. He saw no blood. "You are the one who's bleeding," he retorted angrily.

Then he saw blood drop to the ground below him. It was coming from his _other _hand and his head, even though he had no memory of getting his hand injured.

He observed his hand carefully before realizing that it wasn't his blood.

He looked at Mira. "Stop trying to kill yourself."

"This feeling," Mira murmured touching her neck. "I had it before. Is this called suicide when I do it?"

Hitsugaya stared. "This happened to you before?"

"Mother told me to do it."

Hitsugaya gripped her hard by the shoulders and shook her. "Do you even know what is wrong and what is right?!" He shouted.

"Right, the opposite of left, or write, when you use a brush to make marks on paper?" Mira questioned innocently.

Hitsugaya shook his head violently, slamming Mira's back into the tree. "No! Neither! Right meaning correct! Wrong is the opposite!"

Mira did not move.

Hitsugaya suddenly realized what he was doing when the blood from her neck touched his hand. He let go of her and untied her veil, putting it in his pocket. He stepped back.

Averting his eyes from her face, he looked down. "Sorry," was all he could muster. The sun was already beginning to set.

"I will be fine. Toshiro-sama does not need to worry, I am used to this," Mira said sitting down. She took out a small bottle of medicine and started to apply it to her wounds. "Does Toshiro-sama want to know how I can see?"

Hitsugaya felt a pang of guilt for hurting her. _Why did I attack her in the first place? I wasn't using my brain._

"I feel the small vibrations that everything gives out and sense its respective spirit force. That way, I am able to picture my surroundings. It's very easy for me."

Hitsugaya thought over what she said for a while. "How far can you see?" He asked curiously.

"I have no limits, except for the amount of energy I spend doing it."

"Is it possible for you to ignore the vibrations?"

"Yes. If I do that, I can either not see it or I can 'see through' the object. For instance," Mira turned her head to 'view' the cherry blossoms, "clothes. That way, I can tell what the person is hiding or has on themselves."

_I know someone who would like that ability _Hitsugaya thought. "Hiding?"

"Hidden weapons people conceal or the fact that they are female or male," Mira said mechanically. She didn't seem to care.

Hitsugaya quickly turned around as his hands unconsciously folded themselves over . _E-ev-everything? _"You-you mean, you c-c-ca-can see everything?" He stuttered, blushing furiously.

"Yes. Don't worry, I don't usually ignore the vibrations. Toshiro-sama's body temperature rose suddenly."

Hitsugaya took a deep breath to regain his composure. He was back to normal in a few seconds, save fore the tinge of red on his cheeks. He looked at Mira warily. "Fine, I believe you."

Mira smiled at the tree. "Toshiro-sama, hates the way I speak, right?"

Startled, Hitsugaya could only nod.

"I am worried that, if I stop talking like that, you will think of somebody else," Mira spoke softly. "Who do I remind you of? Answer honestly."

"Momo-chan," he told her. _Wrong, I should have told her Momo's full name. Not something familiar._

"The one that looks similiar to me..." Mira's face lit up suddenly. "She's in the Court of Pure Souls right now! Interesting. She really looks like me."

"Are you seeing her right now?"

"Yes. Yet, she seems very unhappy. She's talking to another shinigami lady."

"Describe the other shinigami for me please," Hitsugaya asked politely.

"She has long hair, huge chest and a band with the 'ten' symbol on it, like the one on your clothes. Do you know her? Ah, Toshiro-sama, they are talking about you."

_Matsumoto._

"Yes. Wait, you can hear them too?"

_Not only that, you can read markings? Her vibrations would have to be super sensitive to detect the slightest change in texture._

"No, I'm just reading their lips," came the reply. "Momo is really upset though."

_What could she be upset about? Was someone being mean to her? _

"Hitsugaya-sama, go to her."

"What?"

"Momo-chan is your friend. You should comfort her."

"But," Hitsugaya was torn between his duty of responsibility, longing to get away from his playmate of a fiance and getting to Momo as fast as he could. _I could use flash steps to get there as fast as possible. I didn't use that ability to get here because I didn't want to even waste my energy visiting someone I don't know._

Mira turned her back to him. "Come back another day Toshiro-sama. Please go."

"It ain't my fault if you get hurt then," he told her. He was getting tired of being formal.

Mira's lips twitched into a smile.

Hitsugaya began his journey back to the Court of Pure Souls as fast as he could using flash steps.

Mira felt him leave. Closing her exhausted eyes, she then stood up shakily and took a few steps towards the house. Without warning, she slipped on the grass backwards and collapsed.

Before she hit the ground, however, a pale hand caught her around her waist.

"You held yourself back too much. The only person you should fight with is me," admonished the person. His voice was very smooth. Tilting Mira's chin up, his green eyes bored into hers. His skin was chalk white and his hair color was identical to Mira's. Black marks on his face made it seem as if he were frowning and crying. Something that resembled a helmet made of bone covered the left side of his head.

Mira merely rested in the person's arms as one of her hands reached and felt the white clothing he was wearing. "You came so early today," Mira said closing her eyes. When she opened them they were plain golden.

"Is that a bad thing?" The arrancar asked. He picked up Mira and held her comfortably in his arms. "What if I'm a fake?"

Mira just smiled. "I'd kill you."

"You are leaving soon. That's why I came," he told her. "That person who just came, isn't he a shinigami?"

"Yes."

The arrancar sat down on the petals falling from the cherry blossom tree. He put Mira on his lap. "What is he doing here? If he has other intentions for you I will punish him. So don't fight him anymore. He hurt you."

"I don't know. You were the one who warned me not to use my sensing ability unless necessary. Plus you told me to be blind whenever you appeared," Mira said sleepily as the arrancar's arm reached around her waist and held her closer to his body.

"Tonight, you are leaving to the human world."

Mira closed her eyes as she tugged on one of his hands with hers and held it to her face. "You are so cold. I feel very calm whenever you hold me like this."

The arrancar's hand slid down her face to the back of her neck and pushed Mira's face closer to his. "Young one, what am I to you?"

"A friend," replied Mira.

"Everyone is a friend to you except for _that_ woman. She is an enemy. Don't you know anything better?"

"No one has ever told me so."

"Beyond friend is a close friend. Past that is," he hesitated for a split second. "a lover."

"What is that?" Mira asked her 'friend'.

"What do you feel when you are with me?" he asked her in turn.

"I don't know what it is called. I just feel like I want you to be close to and with me forever. I'm very happy and I feel so warm when you are nearby. That is all. Do you feel this way with me?"

"Yes innocent one. That is what you would call a lover," the unnamed arrancar told her. "I am going to give you several gifts tonight. Never give them away to anyone but me."

Mira nodded her head.

"So young and innocent. My name is Ulquiorra, remember that."

Mira moved her lips as she silently repeated the name. "Ulquiorra," inquired Mira. "Are you only like this when you are with me?"

Ulquiorra looked deep into Mira's unseeing eyes. "Yes. Just like you are only this way when I am present. Call my name when you really need me."

Mira moved her head downwards. Her eyes were beginning to water.

"Use your seeing ability now," Ulquiorra gently commanded Mira. His arm that was once around her waist was beggining to creep up to her chest- not to mention his wandering fingers had just found their way inside her clothing.

Mira closed her eyes and opened them. Her eyes were now purple with golden flecks in them. They widened when she saw the face of the arrancar for the first time.

Mira's eyes became even bigger when Ulquiorra moved his face closer to hers, closed his eyes and kissed her full on the mouth.

**A/N: Ulquiorra just WHAT! Not too mention the place his hand is located... Sorry if he's so OOC but don't worry, he only acts that way when he's with Mira. Well anyways, anyone notice that Mira talks differently the moment Hitsugaya left? Doesn't look as if Hitsugaya likes Mira _at all _while Momo just keeps on popping up into his troubled mind. What's gonna happen when Mira goes into the human world? And when there's a human world, there's bound to be...**

**Save that for next time. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, but if you didn't, don't say or think that I didn't warn you. (three times in fact). Send me a message on what you think about the story!**


	3. Tasting Mira

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. That's why I'm writing in FanFiction.**

**A/N: Because the last episode's last sentence was probably rather intruiging and my notes were also probably just as intruiging (I hope), I'll leave what I have to say for later (at the end of this chapter). But before that, as always:**

**WARNING: Go away little kids (and people) if you are not fit to be qualified for this T-Rated story. **

Hitsugaya ran as fast as he could towards the Court of Pure Souls with only three words in his mind: _leave, Hinamori, crying._

The moment he reached there he ran all over the Court like a lost soul realizing he had forgotten to ask Mira the exact whereabouts of Hinamori.

He finally found her speaking with Matsumoto. Hitsugaya let out a shout that could be heard ringing in every shinigami's ear within 100 feet. "MOMO ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? DID SOMEONE DO SOMETHING BAaad-" He collapsed mid-sentence, choking and taking in deep-breaths.

Shocked, his luitenent and friend ran over to him. "Shiro-kun, are you all right? What happened?" asked Hinamori.

Shaking, Hitsugaya tried to get up but collapsed once more. He grabbed Hinamori's collar and pulled himself upwards face-to-face with her, not really thinking of what he was doing. "Are... you... allright?" he sputtered.

Hinamori blushed slightly but all Hitsugaya could see was a blurred image of his friend. He could smell the salty tears that were drying on her face. "Momo... don't cry. Say... someth-"

"I'm fine Shiro-kun but what about you?"

Hitsugaya just loosened his grip and everything went black.

--

_At Mira's home:_

Ulquiorra actually abhorred the very idea of kissing Mira. The thought made him tremble and feel disgusted but he had to do it. It was all Grimmjaw's fault, and he never thought he'd actually ever thank him one day for it.

As for Mira, she was going through a lock-down. The only thing that remained alive were her widening eyes, making her look like a life-size doll. Ulquiorra continued to rip off the bandages that she always wore just so he could see if the potion was working. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her skin and tissues rapidly repairing themselves, dissappearing like they were never there.

--

_Three weeks before:_

Ulquiorra glared at Grimmjow."What did you just force me to drink?!" he shouted at his despicable grinning partner.

"Nothing bad, but it didn't taste like coffee did it?" Grimmjow teased before ducking when his sub-ordinate threw sand at him. Unfortunately for him, sand made its way into his mouth. He sat on the ground gagging and coughing until Ulquiorra picked up another fistful of sand.

"Don't worry," he spat. "I (hack) invented it."

Which led to another mouthful of sand that Ulquiorra was quickly scooping into his gullet from the desert.

"It's (cough) a (hack, cough, choke) healing (cough, cough, hack, hack, choke, cough) potion."

Ulquiorra became motionless suddenly. "Oh, will I need to get some more from you if I ever need 'healing'?"

"No, it'll (cough) flow in your (choke, hack, choke, cough) blood and saliva till the (sneeze) day you rot. Of course, if anyone ever needs healing, you can just give your saliva or blood to them, not that I have to describe to you how."

"How?"

"Lick their wounds, kiss them... So you are going to do it to someone?"

Ulquiorra ignored him and inspected himself suspiciously. "You ever, test this on anyone?"

"Erm, yeah. But the test subject died of old age and was eaten later," Grimmjaw told him, backing off.

"Why did you give it to me?"

"Because," Grimmjaw dropped his voice down to a whisper, "of Mira. You like her don't you?"

"No. When did I- you, ever-"

"Happened to see you with her a few months ago and did some extensive research. That's why I know why you were acting so strange for the past year."

"You've been observing me? And spying on that girl?" Ulquiorra calmly asked. He didn't know whether to hurt Grimmjaw or not.

"The change is so obvious. You don't kill as fast as before, you think longer than ever, you always put your hand to your chest, keep careful track of the time and always disappear at the time of the full moon in Soul Society. There are other things as well that have changed."

"What sort of 'extensive research' have you done?" Ulquiorra asked curiously. Inwardly, he cursed. It was not like him to be curious.

Grimmjaw smiled at his companion. "Checking out the history of her family, past, her abilities and," he paused, "something that you might be interested in."

Ulquiorra paid full attention to Grimmjaw.

"Though she doesn't look it, her three sizes are-"

"-I am not interested in that-"

"-Well-"

"-Some _extensive research_. That is unneccessary for an arrancar to do. Honestly, I think you are the one who has changed. Once Aizen broke us up and told us we could do anything we want you-"

"-we can do _anything_ we want so there is nothing wrong with just just watching her for _research_. What about you? She is the _young and innocent one _that you lo-"

"-we do not fall in love with humans," Ulquiorra told Grimmjaw.

"But," corrected Grimmjaw. "She is no longer a human. Hey, are you saying that you lov-"

"-Quiet," interjected Ulquiorra. "She is interesting, that's all."

"True, ignoring Tousen it's unusual to find a blind soul from the Rukongai who's not a shinigami but past the captain level that can see," Grimmjaw mused. Continuing his argument he questioned Ulquiorra, "If she's so interesting then why do you have to hold her all of the time?"

"I just wonder how I used to enjoy eating spirits when I was a hollow. I hold her because I want to feel her, smell the blood on her and taste her," Ulquiorra told Grimmjaw coldly.

Grimmjaw smiled darkly at his companion. "Tell that to Mira."

--

At least that's what he told Grimmjaw, Ulquiorra reassured himself. What he said was all true. The only thing he could remember about his hollow self was the smell of blood. And Mira was always covered in it. But the other scent he enjoyed was _her _scent. The aroma would last on his clothes for days, even if he washed it. The smell was pleasing and relaxing and just sniffing it would strangely boost his spiritual power.

Ulquiorra quickly moved his head back far away from Mira's face and lips. Out of respect for Mira, he did his best to cover up her modesty and not look at it either. He expertly jammed her clothes together.

Mira suddenly sat upright, hitting his chin in the process.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"I'm fine," he murmured. There was an akward silence. "Did you... mind? How... was it?" Ulquiorra averted his gaze to the night sky.

Mira put a finger to her lips. "It felt strange," she admitted. "I don't know what you did but I felt very happy and scared. My body feels better right now. What did you think of it?"

Ulquiorra looked at Mira's innocent face and sighed. "So innocent. To me, it tasted like what water tastes to the thirsty," he paused. It _had _tasted good. "If someone other than me ever does that to you, you can beat them up. Or you could tell me."

Mira smiled. "This is my first time seeing you and my third time using this ability."

Ulquiorra gazed down upon the small figure in his lap.

"You are like a flower to me," Mira said happily. "The first one I saw seems just like you."

Ulquiorra wondered how Mira could compare him, an dangerous arrancar, to a harmless flower. The simile was ridiculous.

"Are you in pain?" Mira asked him unexpectedly.

All he did was stare at her in surprise.

"This hole," she looked at the hole at his neck. "I couldn't see it before. Does it hurt?"

Ulquiorra's hand reached up to unconsciously touch the hole at the base of his neck. He looked into Mira's eyes, not knowing what to say. "It... burns. But," he caressed Mira's neck with his forefinger and thumb. She placed her hand on top of his and held it to her neck. "You couldn't see it with your abilities?"

"No. To me it was highly dense spiritual energy that I ignored because it hurt me when I felt it." She looked down at his fingers and began digging them into her skin.

"I," Ulquiorra began but then he stopped. He glanced at the sky again. There was something that he wanted to say to her, but he kept on getting nervous about it. Would she, _could she_, kill him if those words were spoken?

Once out of his watch, the peaceful face of Mira became solemn. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes.

"Ulquiorra," she murmured. She touched his face with her hand and dug her fingers into his skin. "I feel like I want to hurt you. Go away."

Ulquiorra felt her nails enter his skin and the blood trickle down his face onto her fingers. "No. Do what you feel like doing but know that I will pay you back." He watched as Mira tasted her fingers and then push his skin (wich was starting to heal) back together. Her heartbeat quickened at the taste of blood. Heartbeat... Something that she knew he didn't have. The moment she let go of him Ulquiorra used his thumbnail as a weapon to bury itself in the soft flesh of her neck. For fun, he licked the wound to see what was so appealing about spirit blood.

His teeth attacked it next. Blood spilled out over and over and over and over...

Mira's eyes flashed open. Her hands flew up to yank his hair once. "I need to go. Leave."

He released her and looked at her neck. The bite mark was dissappearing. "I will see you." They both said at the same time. Ulquiorra gave her a curt nod and vanished from sight.

--

_In Hueco Mundo:_

Ulquiorra arrived in Hueco Mundo to be greeted by Grimmjaw.

"I'd just discovered a few side affects," Grimmjaw said cheerfully to Ulquiorra. "So how'd the potion worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk-holysh-what-is-that-red-thing-dripping-from-your-mouth?!" gasped Grimmjaw.

Ulquiorra licked his lips. He had obviously not paid any attention to Grimmjaw's first sentence. "Blood," he answered as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Grimmjaw stared at him. "You ate Mira?" He asked blatantly forgetting completely about the potion.

"Not yet," smiled Ulquiorra, revealing reddened teeth. "I was just curious, that's all."

Grimmjaw kept on staring. Even _he_ wasn't _that _obsessed with blood. "And the taste?" He joked dryly.

"It was _so_ _good_."

--

_Mira's home:_

Mira fixed her clothes, burned the bandages, slipped on her veil and walked inside the house. Her stepmother was impatiently waiting for her.

"Faster. Take this and go away. I don't want to see you ever again in the next two minutes," was all the horrible woman had to say to her. She handed Mira a small bag that did not appear to hold anything bigger than a toothbrush.

Mira took tha bag and bowed respectfully towards her step-mother. "Thank you and goodbye." So saying, she turned around and let a servant guide her to the door.

"There is a tunnel," whispered the unnamed servant to her. "Run straight. Don't stop."

Mira turned to face the servant. Her veil was see-through from her point of view but a stranger who was seeing it from the outside would see nothing but black, and this was Mira's first time seeing her step-mother's face and a servants' face.

She nodded. The door opened and she was inside and the doors shut before her stepmother had time to blink.

**A/N: Grimmjaw seems like the naughty type and Ulquiorra is probably going to eat Mira sometime when he gets the chance. Hitsugaya has fainted and Mira's headed to the human world with her seeing ability still on. Who will she meet there? Why is she going there? Is that Kon trying to make a plan to get into Mira's 'Valley of the Gods'?? And what on earth is Momo trying to do to Hitsugaya in the hot springs?? Mayhem planned for the next chapter.**

**I was actually going to make this chapter longer but I figured that some people would tire of reading and save what I have to say for the next chapter and answer the questions I have listed in this chapter which I will definitely (see bottom) post in the next few days (probably hours) because I want you to know what I intended to happen. **

**Big long sentence. All said in one breath.**

**I also hope that someone will review because I see that many people read this story. I made sure that anyone can review, even people who haven't joined Fanfic. Please R&R before I become disheartened and post new chapters once every few months. Thanks for reading so far! **

**Special note from Hitsugaya (he's writing in his sleep): And little kids, go away because the next chapter's got stuff you don't need to know yet and it's gonna get a little wild from here.**


	4. Human world experience part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, so quit gluing your eyes to this part of the screen.**

**A/N: Here, most of my questions will be answered. But to recap from the last chapter.**

**Go away little kids. You may be too young to understand what's going on. It's going to get a little wild from here. So if you start getting nightmares or most likely, start fantasizing about my character, close your eyes and don't read on. (Though this phrase may refer to the next chapter and not this one).**

**BUUUT, before you read the next twenty paragraphs or so, know that this is only a for 'your information section' and the later part is the more exciting one. Of course, if you want the questions answered, better read this.**

**Warning: This is a very long chapter. I may have to split it into two chapters.**

The tunnel was dark and scary. _This color, I think it's purple, _thought Mira_. _Mira ran towards the light and when she leapt out, she found herself flying over a strange white town with astonishing speed in the middle of the day. The air was chilly.

The black veil flew off her head. Mira looked at the ground with amazement and silently wondered if she was going to finally die after seeing so many things.

As far as she could tell, she was going to crash land on the snow in front of a dark house. There seemed to be two figures sweeping the floor in the front. One had pink colored hair, another had dark purple. The two noticed her and the pink haired one began to run around in circles while the other went inside the shop. The purple person came out with a taller person wearing a striped hat and black clothes. The hat person panicked and ran towards her and caught her safely before she could make an impact with the ground. It was all very confusing to Mira, who's head was starting to spin from the information, color, speed and height.

"My, my. I didn't know that you were going to arrive so early," the hat person babbled to Mira. She looked at the unshaven hair growing on his chin. "I actually thought... Well, never mind about that. Since you're here now, we have to clean the room you have to stay in. Oh, the room's next door to this shop in that building, located on the second floor. Normally, we stash Tessai's medicines inside but when we were notified of your arrival we- sorry, I'm rambling. My name's Uruhara and this is the Uruhara Shop. Ururu! You can now go send a message to Ichigo and Rukia to come over once they finish school because _she's _here! Jinta, go and clean up the room!"

"Why me?" grumbled the pink haired boy.

"Do you want to get the preparations ready then, Jinta?"

"No-"

"Yes," the purple haired girl answered. She took Mira's hand when Urahara put her down. "Let's go," she told Mira.

Still in a daze, Mira obediently followed the girl leading her throughout the town. The coldness of the snow bit through her thin tabi. She had lost her sandals, probably in mid-air.

Mira looked at all of the buildings. It would probably be here first and last time seeing everything in color. Something was nagging the back of her mind, though she couldn't tell what it was...

Mira tripped a little while walking. Ururu stopped. "Are you allright?" she asked.

Mira touched her stomach. It felt strangely emptier than usual. "Yes." Then it hit her. "Oh no! I forgot to tell Toshiro-sama that I was coming here!"

Ururu looked at Mira. "Toshiro-sama? That shinigami who has a fiance?"

"Fiance? What is that? I just met him recently. He isn't good at being nice to strangers."

-- Somewhere in Soul Society, Hinamori gazed at her unconscious friend worryingly and jumped when he suddenly opened his eyes, sneezed, shouted, "MIRA!! I'D RATHER MARRY MOMO THAN YOU!!" And went back into a deep, peaceful sleep, oblivious to Hinamori who had just passed out red in the face...--

They reached the school in two minutes flat. Mira saw many students walk past her. No one stuck out much. Waiting a little longer, Ururu took her by the school gates so they could spot the couple they were looking for. Then she felt a powerful spirit force coming from a bickering duo as they walked out of the school doors.

"Rukia, you are going to clean up my desk tonight!" shouted a boy. His hair looked like the color of the autumn leaves. He was yelling at a shorter girl.

"No," the girl named Rukia said flatly, closing her eyes. "It looks much better now that it has Chappi all over it."

They both stopped in front of Ururu. "Hi, Ururu," the boy said. He towered over Mira and Ururu. " What does sandal-hat want?" he glanced at Mira and suddenly panicked and backed off, dragging Ururu and Rukia away with him.

_This is Ichigo? He frowns just like Toshiro-sama_, thought Mira smiling.

"What is _she_ doing here?" sputtered Ichigo. "What happened to her?"

"Do you know me?" asked Mira pointing at herself.

Ichigo looked around. Almost everyone had gone home. Nobody was around to see him yelling at thin air. "How did you become an arrancar?" Rukia asked. She had very large eyes.

"What is that?"

"Oh, sorry, my mistake," Ichigo muttered. He dropped Rukia and put down Ururu.

Rukia studied the newcomer carefully. She looked like a luitenent class shinigami she saw in the Court of Pure Souls, except her clothes were just like arrancar clothing. White on the outside, black on the inside. Also, she sensed a powerful aura emenating from the girl. Could she be-

Ururu interrupted her thoughts. "Urahara wants to see you two at the shop. Now."

Ichigo frowned deeper. He would definitely have to yell at Rukia later. He sighed. "Let's go and see the old man before he decorates my room again."

--

_Moments later, inside the Urahara shop:_

"Yo! Ichigo, Rukia! How are yo-"

"Skip the greetings. What's she doing here?" Ichigo asked Urahara, pointing at Mira. "Am I supposed to give her Soul Burial or somethin'? She doesn't even have a soul chain."

Uruhara smiled and fanned himself. "This poor, chainless spirit has just been liberated of her prison in Soul Society. It's actually illegal for spirits to return to the living world in this form unless they are shinigami but Soul Society has made an exception in this girl's case. What is your name?"

Mira's stomach was feeling more painful now. "Mira," she whispered. She clutched her stomach.

"Oh dear, are you _hungry_ Mira?" asked Tessai. "In that case I have prepared snacks and tea for this gathering. Have a cookie. Ururu and Jinta kindly baked them for dessert but you can have one now." He handed Mira a cookie which she gratefully munched on.

The moment Tessai mentioned hunger, Rukia and Ichigo partly understood the reason Soul Society allowed Mira to come to the world of the living.

"This girl... What does Soul Society want to do with her?" Rukia asked Urahara.

"Actually, from what I know, she was being ill-treated by her caretaker. From the limited information that I got about her, Mira has a sweet personality."

"So," continued Urahara. "Though the Court of Pure Souls normally doesn't care about mistreated souls, Mira was given a chance to live here, where she is safe."

"Safe from the caretaker?" asked Rukia.

"Yes and no. Safe from her caretaker, people within the Court of Pure Souls and from visitors in Hueco Mundo. There are people who would like to... let's just say that it doesn't seem that anyone she knows harbors any kind intentions towards her."

"Visitors from Hueco Mundo? Who?" asked Ichigo suspiciously. Mira had to be an interesting person if she had this much attention.

Urahara smiled widely. "Now that's the big question isn't i-"

An irritated Ichigo punched him on the nose and Urahara yelped in pain.

Mira rubbed her eyes. She wasn't sure what was worse- her first impression of the human world or sitting in her room in Soul Society all day. Neither was very interesting. Everyone was speaking so fast she couldn't even understand one bit of what they were saying.

Ururu tugged on her sleeve and whispered in her ear. "Jinta finished cleaning your room. You can go there now." Then she retreated into a corner of the shop to join Jinta.

Mira nodded her head and quietly walked out of the shop into the building next door. Her room was on the 4th floor and on the very end of the hallway, number D13. It was completely empty and everything except for the kitchen had a carpet. The apartment had two other rooms. White walls, teal colored carpet- somehow, it reminded her of Toshira-sama.

She put her bag into a corner and lay down on the floor and was just beggining to fall asleep when she saw a lion stuffed animal spying on her.

It was moving towards her.

Mira screamed.

Everyone in the Urahara Shop heard her. Everyone in Karakura Town heard her. And the stuffed animal was getting the worst of it.

Urahara beat everyone to Mira's room and charged inside. Here is a simple list of what he saw:

1. Mira screaming, closing her eyes, backed up to a wall.

2. Kon's plushie body, pinned to the opposite wall with a comb in his mouth, toothbrush in his arm and several sharp brushes sticking in his stomach, ear, eye, paws and legs.

Urahara laughed and scooped Mira up in his arms. "So, little _Miracle_," he began. "I don't think I have to worry much about protecting you after all."

Her forehead made contact with his nose and her fist with his jaw. He stopped laughing and muttered darkly to himself while in pain. But he still did not let go of Mira.

_If anyone does this to you, you can beat them up._

Which is precisely what she did.

When Ichigo, Rukia and co. finally made it to the room, they saw a disheveled Urahara lying at an equally silent Mira's feet.

Ichigo, however, saw Kon.

"KON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" yelled Ichigo.

Kon couldn't speak. There was a comb in his mouth.

Ichigo tore out the comb and ripped Kon's body off the wall. He shook him.

Kon whined. "But, but, but all I wanted was a little hug from that ne-san over there! From experience, I can tell-!"

He got crushed against a wall for all of his trouble. In the meantime, Rukia and Tessai were watching the entire scene; Ururu was trying to wake up Urahara and Jinta kept asking Mira, who was on the verge of collapsing, what was going on. It was all very chaotic and noisy until everyone in that room sensed the presence of a hollow.

Which was when Mira fainted.

--

Mira woke up sometime in the evening. The air was warm, comfortable. There was also something soft next to her. Something, moving, breathing...

She sat up immediately. She was blind. Completely blind.

Mira felt a thick blanket slipping off of her. Her clothes felt strange. She felt them out. There was a strange piece of cloth that covered only her chest on the inside of what seemed to be a tight hakama. There was also something wrong with her pants- she could feel her legs touching each other. But they seemed to be halfway covered with something tight from her feet untill her knees.

"Oh my!" she heard a voice exclaim from her left side. "You're awa-"

Mira punched the ever-annoying Urahara far away from her. There was a mumbling of voices from the right side of her as Ururu and Jinta woke up.

Jinta yawned. Judging from the sound, he was stretching himself and giving himself a pleasant workout by pulling on Ururu's bangs. Ururu was whining loudly and Tessai's loud jolly voice boomed from another room, "TIME TO EAT!!"

Mira stood up. "Ururu? What am I wearing?" she called out quietly while feeling her clothes. "Who changed me?"

"That, little Miracle, is a mystery for you to find out and for me to bury deep in the basement," Urahara mentioned cheerfully.

"I did it," Ururu said, ignoring Urahara's look of disappointment.

"You're wearing a red dress. May I add that you look very fetching in it?" Tessai added.

"I agree," chimed in Urahara.

For the first time in her life, Mira felt warmed by someone other than Ulquiorra. "Th-tha-thank you," she mumbled gratefully. She rarely used the word without feeling thankful. Ulquiorra had taught it to her.

"AH-CHOO!!" sneezed Jinta. "It's real easy to catch a cold these days. Are we gonna go to the hot springs?"

Before anyone could say anything, Mira beat them to it.

"What are hot springs?"

--

In Soul Society:

Hitsugaya woke up. He looked around himself carefully. _Where am I?_

Momo was sleeping on a bed next to him. In the following second, he leapt out of his bed to see her but tripped on his blanket.

Momo woke up when she heard the crash and sleepily stretched herself before realizing what had happened. "Shiro-kun! Are you okay?" She got out of her bed quickly and helped him to his feet. _Shiro-kun's eyes are spinning._

Hitsugaya stopped spinning. In a flash he grasped Hinamori's hands with his own tightly. "Momo-chan! You okay?"

"Well..."

Hitsugaya waited eagerly for her reply. He didn't even care if he was making himself feel nervous. _Wait, why do I feel nervous? _he thought with a blush. He stared at her hands. They looked beautiful- never before had he seen hands so beautiful.

Hinamori tore her hands away from Hitsugaya's grip. Her heart was pounding within her chest. "Not really," she whispered fiercely. She stomped out of the room leaving a confused shinigami behind.

Hitusgaya just stared at the floor and pulled at his white hair. _What's wrong with me? Something's wrong. What did I do to Momo? What should I do?_

He didn't realize that he had spoken all of the words aloud until he heard a voice behind him saying, "Well I am going to the hot springs this evening with Hinamori. Wanna come?"

He jumped, yelped (he pulled out some of his hair) and turned around. "Matsumoto! When did you get here?"

The strawberry-blond rolled her eyes and didn't move from where she was. "I've been here for quite a while," she told Hitsugaya from the bed. "And I think that you seriously need a break."

"What's going on?" asked the clueless Hitsugaya.

Matsumoto rolled over. "I thought that you were supposed to be a genius. You'll probably figure out things when the situation's out of hand. Think carefully," she advised.

Hitsugaya began to think. _Momo-chan got angry when I got a fiance. She was upset today when I met the fiance- her look-alike. So Momo-chan upset the fiance + me... I almost got it..._

"So what's your fiance's name?" Rangiku asked curiously. "What does she look like? Is she nice? How old is she?"

He sighed frustratedly. He almost had it and then... this.

"Her name's Mira. She looks exactly like Momo- except for her eyes and veil. She's blind and I actually think that she is very strange. I think that she's my age- or a little younger. I can't remember. That's all," Hitsugaya said plainly.

"Do you... like her?"

Rangiku asked this with such innocent curiousity that he was taken aback for a moment.

"No," he answered coolly. "On the other hand, I don't like her at all. I hate almost everything about her. She's annoying, egoistic, a machosist and immature."

Now it was Rangiku's turn to be taken aback by the cold-hearted manner in which he spoke about Mira. She hadn't heard him speak a mean word for several years.

They were quiet for a while. Then Rangiku began to mutter.

"Is Mira is a mirror image of Hinamori? Could she be..."

Rangiku was silent for a moment.

Then the 10th squad captain interrupted her train of thought. "What is it?" he asked her anxiously.

"Aargh, Hitsugaya-sama! You scared me! I almost fell off the bed! The shock was so bad that I forgot. Never mind. Are you coming or not to the hot springs? I won free tickets in a raffle in the human world by accident." _Say yes, _she willed. She stared hard into his teal eyes.

"Ok," Hitsugaya said. Accident? Matsumoto was making him feel uncomfortable again.

--

At the hot springs in the human world: EVERYONE is here.

In one room there was Tessai, Jinta, Mira, Ururu and Urahara all eating (in Mira's case, being fed by Urahara) a warm meal.

In the hot springs were Toshiro, Momo and Rangiku (yes, it's mixed).

Toshiro did his best to avoid seeing his friends in their swimsuits. Somehow, he kept on getting nosebleeds. Unfortunately, they seemed to be everywhere.

"Shiro-kun, stop avoiding me. Are you really all right?"

He stared at her. The mist gave her a certain softness to her features that made her look prettier than usual. And of all swimsuits, he wondered, did she have to wear _this _one?

It was a daring two-piece black swimsuit that Hitsugaya was sure she would never even try to wear because it was so revealing. Momo wasn't like that. Not like Rangiku, who was wearing something similiar.

But now, he grit his teeth in embarrasment as she leaned over him to check his forehead. Her hair curled a little at the ends where it touched her skin. But now, it seemed that quite a few things he had known about Momo before would have to be updated. Her hand touched his forehead fleetingly and his cheeks burned. Then...

"YAHOO!!"

Hitsugaya turned to see a small boy with pink hair splashing around in a second pool nearby. He was joined by a small girl with strange bangs, a giant man and a blond-haired guy who was leading a girl by the hand into the water. A girl with long dark hair and startling eyes...

He dunked his head underwater, his heart pounding with fear and all traces of warmth was instantly replaced by ice. _Mira, what is she doing here?! Who are those other people?!_

Rangiku watched lazily as bubbles rose to the surface from her Captain's nose. The water seemed to be getting cooler. She looked away to see the pink haired boy happily splash water onto two other girls and then get nearly drowned as the younger girl hit him on the head while trying to splash him. The other girl was, however, unfazed as she stared blankly ahead at the two, one of which was running away.

Rangiku felt something strange from all of them. They weren't normal humans. And the girl had the most colorful eyes she had ever seen. She looked like... Rangiku gasped quietly. It was a double of Hinamori. But not exact. This girl's eyes were far sadder, emptier and more peaceful than anyone in the world could ever hope to be. And her face was thinner, skin pale as snow in the setting sun and body shape so fragile and perfect that Momo looked even more 'normal' than ever.

Rangiku frowned. She had almost made a poem out of the girl's looks.

Not to mention that the other girl was most likely Hitsugaya's fiance.

As Hitsugaya surfaced to take in air Rangiku poked him.

"Hey," she whispered and pointed into the girl's direction. "Is that Mira? Your fiance."

Hitsugaya blanching in front of her was more than enough for an answer.

"What are you going to do?" Her blue eyes seemed to bore into his head.

And for once, the genius captain was scared speechless.

Because Momo just spotted Mira.

**A/N: This chapter was very long and I was suppossed to update a day after my other chapter and I somehow became so busy that I couldn't even update. Until two months later.**

**I'm giving up writing in this chapter. It's way too long. So I will continue in another chapter. I'm suppossed to be in bed too, so, I have a small request to make.**

**If I get at least 4+ reviews then I will update immediately. It's very saddening and VERY discouraging to write without knowing if anybody is reading it. If I don't get any reviews in the next ten days (by June 14, 2008) I will terminate this story.**

**And I have made it possible for anyone to review this story. So please, 4+ reviews. That's all. Thank you.**


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